Sol Y Mar Sea Star, Taba

'''Review of Sol Y Mar Sea Star'''

_Introduction_

After a rather stressful year for both myself and my other half we searched around for late deals before deciding upon Egypt and in particular Taba, situated next to the border of Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Booked through Hays Travel, flying with Thompson but represented in Taba by Holidays4u.com we travelled early August 2008 to Sol Y Mar Sea Star Hotel.

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.../> ===Beach===

Sol Y Mar Sea Star has its own section of the red sea beach, a short 5 minute walk from the hotel where once again the all inclusive payment extends to the bar just down from the hotel. Here you can exchange a free ticket for a beach towel meaning you don't have to lug your own down there and back. Here you can go snorkelling in the reefs fairly close to shore with the fantastic range of coloured fish that live in these ... more

Review of Sol Y Mar Sea Star

Introduction

After a rather stressful year for both myself and my other half we searched around for late deals before deciding upon Egypt and in particular Taba, situated next to the border of Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Booked through Hays Travel, flying with Thompson but represented in Taba by Holidays4u.com we travelled early August 2008 to Sol Y Mar Sea Star Hotel.

Arrival

Upon arriving at Sol Y Mar Sea Star we were checked in with a welcome drink and a chauffeur to carry the large suitcase full of hair dryers, make up, clothes and shoes of which nearly all belonged to my other half (make your own assumptions).

The Hotel Room

The room was noted as being superior and didn't disappoint. Comfy bed, small but pretty balcony with chairs to sit out, superb air conditioning with adjustable temperature buttons, decent sized bathroom as well as all the usual standard perks such as a safety deposit box and fridge packed with cold drinks.

The all-inclusive experience (The Food)

The hotel is all inclusive for everyone meaning drinks are there on tap all day as well as food in the shape of the breakfast, lunch and dinner. First up being Breakfast, served at a generous time slot of 7am - 10am, giving early birds and those that like to sleep in (my catergory) equal chance to fill up early doors. Breakfast is served in metal container style trays with doors on that shut to keep the heat in. They are also being heated underneath so everything stays hot. The food is constantly being changed so it doesn't matter what time you come for breakfast you have the same choices as those who go before or after you. The standard choices within the metal containers were things such as hot dog sausages, hard boiled eggs, French toast etc though there was also a chef who cooked on the spot for those people who wanted omelettes. For those wanting cereal, yoghurt, toast, or fresh fruit this was all available too though spaced out within the dinning room so that there were barely any queues.

Lunch is the shortest time for all the food breaks. At 1-3pm the same set up with containers and separate cold food means that it is easy for you to get the hang of how the whole thing works. Again there is a chef cooking fresh food for you on the spot, usually pasta with a choice of sauces for accompaniment. The hot food in containers was usually potatoes, rice, chicken, beef, pork and fish though where it differed was in the style of cooking so there was no chance of getting sick and tired of the same meals. For instance, potatoes may be wedges one day but gratin the next, roast the day after etc. what was clear early on was the food was of a high standard and the consistent checking of food temperature put you at ease with regards to food poisoning.

Dinner would be served at 7-10pm though in the same vain as the lunch menu. On the hotels tv it stated that they would be a dress code for the restaurant at night though in the whole week of my time there hardly any person was out of flip flops, shorts, short skirts etc. As well as the all inclusive food you could book into one of the hotels two restaurants which were separate to the all inclusive food: - steak house, and Italian. Getting a 6% discount for just ordering before 3pm, and because of most staying in the comfort of all inclusive food you could pick your own serving time. You ordered your food whilst booking at table before 3pm in knowledge that your food would be fast arriving once seated in the evening. Although not inclusive of your stay Egypt is a relatively cheap country and for a stunning steak meal with a huge portion of steak, chips, onions and a peppercorn sauce came to equivalent of £7.85 for both myself and my girlfriend, and a small welcome break from the usual food.

The people

Having been to Africa before when going to Tunisia a couple of years previous the people there were often in your face trying to sell something, or their friends something. Here although the selling culture was similar in principle, i.e. submarine trips cheaper than Thompson, they were always friendly in approaching you and if, like me you just wanted to stay and chill around the pool, they were fine at this and left you alone or indulged in conversation about your stay and were overall very welcoming. The people of the hotel were all happy to help with anything, such as when we had a problem getting hold of our rep, the receptionist rang on our behalf, found out the solution to our problem and then came and found us on the resort to tell us. Also following our delicious meal at the steak house the head chef was extremely gracious and appreciative when I gave him positive feedback the next day. The animation team were really funny and although, again, I opted for a more relaxing holiday, you could see from the smiles on the young people around the hotel that they were fulfilling their job specs and beyond. The animation team also waved all the people they had positive relations with throughout their stay when their departure from the hotel came around.

Excursions

As well as with the reps from holiday makers the hotel had its own excursions that you could book. Snorkelling, diving excursions as well as a submarine trip that involved free lunch, sticking with the all inclusive principles. All the excursions seemed reasonably priced and again, I chose to chill in the resort but other families commented on the efficiency and value for money these trips provided. The hotel also had a taxi service which again was priced in the 'cheap' bracket and would take you as far as you wanted.

Russians?

I have stuck this in as a light hearted way of answering the queries people would have about the hotel been full of those adorable eastern Europeans. By this I mean through my research of Egypt as a whole there were many negative reports from peoples experiences of Egypt being spoilt by arrogant Russians. Perhaps we went at a fortunate time but our hotel was full of English people, more than you would probably get in Benidorm at this time of year. An odd Russian couple here and there but none of the arrogant shenanigans reported on tripadvisor,com.

Beach

Sol Y Mar Sea Star has its own section of the red sea beach, a short 5 minute walk from the hotel where once again the all inclusive payment extends to the bar just down from the hotel. Here you can exchange a free ticket for a beach towel meaning you don't have to lug your own down there and back. Here you can go snorkelling in the reefs fairly close to shore with the fantastic range of coloured fish that live in these waters. For me, a snorkelling novice this was a fantastic experience, which was also free.

Around the hotel

There was plenty to do around the hotel which was just as well as there was little to do outside of it besides the local beach. There is a shop that sells cheap essentials such as sun cream, Egypt National team football shirts, snorkelling kits etc. Pool and table tennis facilities, internet access (though extremely slow) as well as notice boards for each of the holiday makers to keep you updated with changes to flights, excursions etc.

Heat

Probably the most important factor of all for some people. The heat was extremely hot in Taba, dropping no lower than 36° each day and getting as high as 40° on others. The sun was out as early as 7am, baking hot even at that time, and still being just as hot at 5pm.

GOOD Points

I think I have covered most things but obviously the sun, friendly staff and more than acceptable standards of food are the high points. The best thing is that you can have whatever holiday you want; I chose chilling/relaxing but that's not to say Sol Y Mar Sea Star does not cater for those who want much more going on; far from it. The ease of access to anything whether it be the beach for snorkelling, or excursions to Cairo is another good point. I liked the notice boards up in the hotel that informed you of updated travel information, weather, and the times that the reps were in the hotel so you could plan your day around this. I had never done the all inclusive experience but with beer, or pepsi on tap all day every day was definitely the way to go. You didn't need to keep going to the bar, or swim up to the bar for one of the pools, a waiter came round and took your orders and brought them out to you as well as a selection of ice cream flavours.

BAD Points

There was little that stood out in terms of bad points only minor issues such as not being able to use the safety deposit box properly. Our main problems were outside the hotels control such as our incompetent rep but then this was turned into a good point where the hotel helped sort out any problems and even contacted the rep on our behalf to find things out.

OVERALL

I would recommend this resort and hotel to anyone who is after a fantastic break away. It really does cater for a wide range of people and everyone who was there at the time I was seemed to be having a cracking time, even if we were all doing different things with different agendas of what makes a good holiday. I thought my holiday was going to be spoiled by death when a delusional woman started saying (really loudly) "I don't have a good feeling about this" when the flight was two hours delayed on the way home. She kept on saying "its not over until the fat lady sings", which was ironic when I saw her Michelle McManus style gut landing safely in Manchester. Perhaps she broke into song on the way home, either way I was going home happy at money well spent.

Thanks for reading 

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